In the endless war that is the "Souls Difficulty Debate" there's one key thing that is pretty much always missed. I've missed it, and so have many others... because it is easy to miss. Especially when one is able-bodied enough that completing a Souls title is purely a matter of skill, and not a literally insurmountable goal due to physical and/or mental barriers.
Personally, I've used the notion of 'accessibility' to further my own desire for an Easy Mode, and on looking back that was shitty of me. On the other side, a considerable number of people have harassed a developer on Twitter for criticising Elden Ring's accessibility features (or lack thereof), purely because they believed they were talking about said easy mode. It becomes highly muddled, and often-enough the actual issues are hidden.
Of course that is the fact that modern Souls games - despite clearly showing no desire to have 'difficulty modes' - simply do not have many other accessibility features to begin with. Whether they be ones that could be seen as "affecting the difficulty," or ones that simply allow people to see the game's enemies better, the options are sorely lacking in many ways. This can create situations where people may have the desire to meet these games on their own terms - to have the "intended experience" - yet can't due to one, or multiple factors that block them from getting in their way.
As such, I thought I'd try to help the whole discussion, and perhaps make something constructive, by asking the question of what accessibility features should these games actually have? These can stem from visual changes, aids to help those hard-of-hearing to understand audio cues better, controller remapping, contrast options, and so on. There's a multitude of different possibilities that can be applied both to games in general, and to the Souls 'genre' of games itself.
I would also ask that, since we're talking about accessibility features here, that this not turn into another 'debate' thread. You may not personally agree that, say, a "slow-motion" mode would best fit these titles, but you don't have to air that grievance here. Simultaneously, I would ask that people post more than just "put an easy mode in." Suggest it, but there are many other places for that debate. Whilst difficulty does equal accessibility, it's clear that From - and seemingly all other developers of 'Souls-Likes' - are simply not going to budge on this issue, so it might be more productive to find other ways in which these incredible titles could be enjoyed by more people.
Note that this isn't just Souls, but can be applied to 'Souls-Like' games and games in general.
If you're having issues thinking of what things might constitute 'accessibility features' then I'd highly recommend looking at this list of Game Accessibility Guidelines. It's a comprehensive breakdown of various ways in which developers can make games more accessible, whether they be optional or part of the game's design.
I'd also like to give a shout-out to Steve Saylor, one of the leading voices on accessibility in games, who created his own video around Elden Ring in particular:
Also perhaps give a read to this article from Grant Stoner from IGN for something more specific to Elden Ring and the "accessibility vs. 'easy mode' question:
www.ign.com
(Thanks LumberPanda for pointing this out to me)
Though, again, this thread is not a place to debate and dissect this particular article or Saylor's video. I just feel it's best to amplify disabled and/or more experienced voices for better insight and knowledge into the topic. It's too often that those voices get drowned out by able-bodied people without the same life experiences and contexts, so if there's one thing you take from this thread it's these.
Personally, I've used the notion of 'accessibility' to further my own desire for an Easy Mode, and on looking back that was shitty of me. On the other side, a considerable number of people have harassed a developer on Twitter for criticising Elden Ring's accessibility features (or lack thereof), purely because they believed they were talking about said easy mode. It becomes highly muddled, and often-enough the actual issues are hidden.
Of course that is the fact that modern Souls games - despite clearly showing no desire to have 'difficulty modes' - simply do not have many other accessibility features to begin with. Whether they be ones that could be seen as "affecting the difficulty," or ones that simply allow people to see the game's enemies better, the options are sorely lacking in many ways. This can create situations where people may have the desire to meet these games on their own terms - to have the "intended experience" - yet can't due to one, or multiple factors that block them from getting in their way.
As such, I thought I'd try to help the whole discussion, and perhaps make something constructive, by asking the question of what accessibility features should these games actually have? These can stem from visual changes, aids to help those hard-of-hearing to understand audio cues better, controller remapping, contrast options, and so on. There's a multitude of different possibilities that can be applied both to games in general, and to the Souls 'genre' of games itself.
I would also ask that, since we're talking about accessibility features here, that this not turn into another 'debate' thread. You may not personally agree that, say, a "slow-motion" mode would best fit these titles, but you don't have to air that grievance here. Simultaneously, I would ask that people post more than just "put an easy mode in." Suggest it, but there are many other places for that debate. Whilst difficulty does equal accessibility, it's clear that From - and seemingly all other developers of 'Souls-Likes' - are simply not going to budge on this issue, so it might be more productive to find other ways in which these incredible titles could be enjoyed by more people.
Note that this isn't just Souls, but can be applied to 'Souls-Like' games and games in general.
If you're having issues thinking of what things might constitute 'accessibility features' then I'd highly recommend looking at this list of Game Accessibility Guidelines. It's a comprehensive breakdown of various ways in which developers can make games more accessible, whether they be optional or part of the game's design.
I'd also like to give a shout-out to Steve Saylor, one of the leading voices on accessibility in games, who created his own video around Elden Ring in particular:
(Thanks, Ra !)
Also perhaps give a read to this article from Grant Stoner from IGN for something more specific to Elden Ring and the "accessibility vs. 'easy mode' question:
Accessibility Isn't Easy: What 'Easy Mode' Debates Miss About Bringing Games to Everyone - IGN
As Elden Ring approaches, the discussion around whether hard games need an easy mode is already taking off. But making games accessible to more audiences is about much more than a single difficulty level.
Though, again, this thread is not a place to debate and dissect this particular article or Saylor's video. I just feel it's best to amplify disabled and/or more experienced voices for better insight and knowledge into the topic. It's too often that those voices get drowned out by able-bodied people without the same life experiences and contexts, so if there's one thing you take from this thread it's these.
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